Monday, June 07, 2010

Booklist

I like doing these mini reviews better than the long, boring ones I was doing. So, I'm going to keep it up. In case you're wondering why I'm reading so many graphic novels, it's because a) I like them for the most part and b) I can't find any regular books to read that I like. Got any suggestions?

Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. - The movie is better than the comic. I've never been a big fan of JRJR's artwork.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - These books are entertaining but very shallow when it comes to story and character. It's going to be awhile before we see another YA series that's as good as Harry Potter.

Welcome to Tranquility: Vol. 1 & 2 by Gail Simone and Neil Googe - It's about the fictional town of Tranquility, CA which is home to retired superheroes. Interesting premise (I understand there is a book by Stephen King that's similar) and good artwork. I liked it.

The Avengers: Nights of Wundagore by David Michelinie and John Byrne - This originally saw print in 1979 so I read it when I was in high school. I'm a huge fan of Byrne but didn't remember that they let Klaus Jansen ink his pencils. Jansen's inks are too dark for Byrne's work. The story is interesting though because it's the beginning of finding out that the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Magneto's kids. Lots of crossover with X-Men back then...you know...when you could keep up with all the storylines because there weren't 1000 books per character being published per month.

Preacher: Ancient History by Garth Ennis, Steve Pugh, Carlos Ezquerra. - This book presented back stories of existing characters. Interesting to see the origin of the Saint of Killers and Arseface but the other story was crap. I didn't like Pugh's art at all but Ezquerra was all right. I'm ready to get back to the regular storyline.

Preacher: Dixie Fried by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon - More weirdness but back to the regular storyline. I'm going to keep going.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class/Hated and Feared by various writers and artists - I liked this. It hearkens back to the days when Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne were working their magic with Marvel's mutants. It's too bad we can't have Claremont, Byrne and Austin back to do some new stories. That would be something.